Worst Medieval Monarchs

 

The Worst Medieval Monarchs- Phil Bradford

Pen & Sword

Release Date: September 30, 2023

Rating: 📚📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: Stephen. John. Edward II. Richard II. Richard III. These five are widely viewed as the worst of England’s medieval kings. Certainly, their reigns were not success stories. Two of these kings lost their thrones, one only avoided doing so by dying, another was killed in battle, and the remaining one had to leave his crown to his opponent. All have been seen as incompetent, their reigns blighted by civil war and conflict. They tore the realm apart, failing in the basic duty of a king to ensure peace and justice. For that, all of them paid a heavy price. As well as incompetence, some also have reputations for cruelty and villainy, More than one has been portrayed as a tyrant. The murder of family members and arbitrary executions stain their reputations. All five reigns ended in failure. As a result, the kings have been seen as failures themselves, the worst examples of medieval English kingship. They lost their reputations as well as their crowns.

Yet were these five really the worst men to wear the crown of England in the Middle Ages? Or has history treated them unfairly? This book looks at the stories of their lives and reigns, all of which were dramatic and often unpredictable. It then examines how they have been seen since their deaths, the ways their reputations have been shaped across the centuries. The standards of their own age were different to our own. How these kings have been judged has changed over time, sometimes dramatically. Fiction, from Shakespeare’s plays to modern films, has also played its part in creating the modern picture. Many things have created, over a long period, the negative reputations of these five. Today, they have come to number among the worst kings of English history. Is this fair, or should they be redeemed?

That is the question this book sets out to answer.

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This was a really excellent look at 5 medieval English monarchs: Stephen, John, Edward II, Richard II, and Richard III. The author states up front that labeling people (maybe especially monarchs) 'best' or 'worst' anything is fraught with all sorts of problems but since that's the kind of age we live in now, he's looking at five medieval kings who are generally argued to be pretty bad. He explains that they will be looked at in the context of their time and then tells us what kingship meant in that time and how their people would have been judging them. Seems like a concept that should be obvious, but so many don't do this to put us all on a level playing field that I was both amazed and delighted to find this book doing so!

Bradford kept on delighting me by taking each monarch and giving a brief summary of their lives, then following how chroniclers treated their legacy, how they were viewed through the centuries, and how that view could shift (occasionally dramatically) through time depending on what different historians were trying to prove. Which usually had more to do with the historian and their viewpoint or propaganda than the monarch and his original life. How has popular culture treated each king? And then Bradford's final verdict on whether the king deserves to be known as among the "worst" medieval monarchs or not. 

I loved the sections where Bradford follows the king's legacy through the centuries and how historians have argued over them and used them to show different angles. Likewise, the sections on popular culture really help you understand how, while some kings aren't hurt by it, others are forever branded in popular opinion in certain ways. No matter what historians may decide, poor King John is never going to be seen in popular culture as anything other than the easy villain of Robin Hood stories. Almost more a stereotype than an actual person. And let's not even talk about Shakespeare and Richard III!

Well-researched, well-written, with arguments clearly expressed for you to agree or disagree with (or inspire you to read more about), Bradford does an excellent job of presenting pretty balanced accounts for each king. His emphasis on placing each man in their historical context to be judged in medieval context alone was excellent, and something I wish was done more often when it comes to history.

I definitely recommend this book to history lovers, those looking to start exploring medieval times and their monarchs, and people just looking for a good book!

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

The Brothers York

The Brothers York: A Royal Tragedy- Thomas Penn
Simon & Schuster
Release Date: June 16, 2020

Rating:
📚📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: In 15th-century England, two royal families, the House of York and the House of Lancaster, fought a bitter, decades-long civil war for the English throne. As their symbols were a red rose for Lancaster and a white rose for York, the conflict became known as the Wars of the Roses.

During this time, the house of York came to dominate England. At its heart were three charismatic brothers—King Edward IV, and his two younger siblings George and Richard—who became the figureheads of a spectacular ruling dynasty. Together, they looked invincible.

But with Edward’s ascendancy the brothers began to turn on one another, unleashing a catastrophic chain of rebellion, vendetta, fratricide, usurpation, and regicide. The brutal end came at Bosworth Field in 1485, with the death of the youngest, then Richard III, at the hands of a new usurper, Henry Tudor, later Henry VII, progenitor of the Tudor line of monarchs.

Fascinating, dramatic, and filled with vivid historical detail, The Brothers York is a brilliant account of a conflict that fractured England for a generation. Riven by internal rivalries, jealousy, and infighting, the three York brothers failed to sustain their power and instead self-destructed. It is a rich and bloody tale as gripping as any historical fiction.

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For history lovers looking to read a definitive book on an English monarch or their era (such as Henry VIII and the Men Who Made Him or Good Queen Anne), in my opinion the book to read for King Edward IV's reign is The Brothers York: A Royal Tragedy by Thomas Penn.  Encompassing not only Edward IV's life and times, The Brothers York weaves together the stories of the battles between the Lancasters and the Yorks, Nevilles, Percys, Woodvilles, Rivers, and more.  More importantly, it also puts into context the lives of Edward's brothers George, the Duke of Clarence, and Richard, who would become King Richard III.  

What the average person knows of this family is probably little to nothing, and then their 'knowledge' is based on Shakespeare's evil King Richard destroying his family.  In Penn's Brothers York we meet the ambitious Edward and his advisor Warwick "the Kingmaker", the fascinating politics behind how Edward rewarded his favorites, and his unusual (and questionable) ways of constantly increasing the royal coffers.  Edward focused on the image of the royal family as a united front, heads above everyone else, and Penn argues that if Edward and his brothers had been able to remain united, there is probably little they couldn't have done.  But politics and personalities interfere and jealousy and the lures of ever increasing power were too much to keep the brothers united.  But the fractures didn't occur the way you think they did.

This is not your Shakespearean family, but a well-researched, well-written, neutral, and detailed account of Edward IV's reign, the multiple betrayals by the spoiled Clarence, and the warrior brother Richard, who was loyal to his elder brother until Edward's death- but not beyond.  The Brothers York is a fascinating history of brothers seeking to end conclusively the "Wars of the Roses", written in a casual, story-telling style that, combined with the drama and larger than life personalities involved, makes the pages fly by. An absolute must read for history lovers!       

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Good Queen Anne

Good Queen Anne: Appraising the Life and Reign of the Last Stuart Monarch- Judith Cromwell
McFarland/Amazon Digital Services
Release Date: February 28, 2019

Rating:
📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: Queen Anne (1665–1714) was not charismatic, brilliant or beautiful, but under her rule, England rose from the chaos of regicide, civil war and revolution to the cusp of global supremacy. She fought a successful overseas war against Europe’s superpower and her moderation kept the crown independent of party warfare at home. This biography reveals Anne Stuart as resolute, kind and practical—a woman who surmounted personal tragedy and poor health to become a popular and effective ruler.

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Britain's Queen Anne (1665-1714) is not someone I really knew anything about, so I was excited to see a new biography on her come out.  By the time I had finished Good Queen Anne I could only ask myself: why is she not more well known?  She was everything we would want in a world leader today: a strong woman, a fierce moderate, an independent thinker, and a kind human being. Author Judith Cromwell does an excellent job bringing Anne to life as a fully human and relatable royal: a young woman, a princess, a married woman, and a queen.  She united England and Scotland, helped steer England through the long War of Spanish Succession, and held her country together at a time when party politics was leaning to extremes on both sides.  I loved that Anne always insisted on her cabinet being as moderate and free of party politics as she could manage- something today's politics could learn from.  She insisted on putting what was good for the country ahead of what was good for an individual, whether that individual was her or not.  And she tried to keep from being beholden to either party, something not always possible during war. 

The book did have its' flaws, mostly in the writing style in my opinion.  Cromwell has a tendency to begin by describing the weather before entering a new section, which works in small doses but towards the end began to happen so often that it felt contrived.  While I expect the intent was to make the reader feel a part of the events it became something I was so conscious of that it would jolt me from the book to notice instead of flowing seamlessly.  But my real problem with the writing was the overwhelming amount of repetition. While I don't mind a bit of repetition to help keep people and titles straight over the course of a 600 page book, I don't need to be constantly told that Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, was Anne's close friend and confident (until Anne became Queen. It was downhill after that). I don't need to be constantly told that Sarah became threatened and jealous of Anne's maid Abigail and believed (despite no evidence) that Abigail was influencing Anne's politics.  While the relationship between Anne and Sarah was an essential part to Anne's story, there were better ways to emphasize that then the repetition Cromwell used- occasionally almost to the word.

Overall, Good Queen Anne is a wonderful, well-researched book about a strong woman who stood her ground in the face of even stronger personalities, power plays, and outright bullying by family members, "friends", and politicians.  Cromwell reveals a queen I didn't know I wanted to know about- but am incredibly glad I do now.  Three cheers for Good Queen Anne!  

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Henry VIII

Henry VIII and the Men Who Made Him- Tracy Borman
Atlantic Monthly Press
Release Date: February 5, 2019

Rating: 
📚📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: Henry VIII is best known in history for his tempestuous marriages and the fates of his six wives. However, as acclaimed historian Tracy Borman makes clear in her illuminating new chronicle of Henry’s life, his reign and reputation were hugely influenced by the men who surrounded and interacted with him as companions and confidants, servants and ministers, and occasionally as rivals—many of whom have been underplayed in previous biographies.

These relationships offer a fresh, often surprising perspective on the legendary king, revealing the contradictions in his beliefs, behavior, and character in a nuanced light. They show him capable of fierce but seldom abiding loyalty, of raising men up only to destroy them later. He loved to be attended by boisterous young men, the likes of his intimate friend Charles Brandon, who shared his passion for sport, but could also be diverted by men of intellect, culture, and wit, as his longstanding interplay with Cardinal Wolsey and his reluctant abandonment of Thomas More attest. Eager to escape the shadow of his father, Henry VII, he was often trusting and easily led by male attendants and advisors early in his reign (his coronation was just shy of his 18th birthday in 1509); in time, though, he matured into a profoundly suspicious and paranoid king whose ruthlessness would be ever more apparent, as Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk and uncle to two of Henry’s wives, discovered to his great discomfort, and as Eustace Chapuys, the ambassador of Charles V of Spain, often reported.

Recounting the great Tudor’s life and signal moments through the lens of his male relationships, Tracy Borman’s new biography reveals Henry’s personality in all its multi-faceted, contradictory glory, and sheds fresh light on his reign for anyone fascinated by the Tudor era and its legacy.

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When people think "Henry VIII" they probably think of beheadings and serial marriages. But there is a great deal more to his legacy than this and Tracy Borman explores all of it in Henry VIII and the Men Who Made Him.  Borman examines Henry's life by looking at the men he surrounded himself with.  Henry loved to have intelligent, active young men around him who shared his interests in hunting, hawking, dancing, and every other form of sport available.  After a difficult relationship with his father, Henry wanted to be a king as opposite his predecessor as possible.  While he may be more well known today as a harsh and paranoid tyrant, in his youth Henry was trusting and could be easily led by trusted confidants seeking power.

Borman explores Henry's relationships with Cardinal Wolsey, Thomas Cromwell, Thomas Moore, the Howards, the Seymours, and the Boleyns as well as less well known figures.  A refreshing amount of the book is based on contemporary sources, most notably ambassador Eustace Chapuys. This means the reader is treated to the gossip and rumors that swirled around Henry's court as well as the reality of court life- brilliantly and subtly illuminating the court's atmosphere of infighting and backstabbing as individuals and factions sought Henry's favor and the money and power that came with it.  While Henry's controlling disposition and violent temper increased as he aged, the reader discovers that the popular image of a king who routinely beheads people was enhanced by his followers at court who used their king's paranoia to get rid of their competitors- thinking of themselves more often than the king.  

A well-researched, well-written, and entirely fascinating book, Henry VIII and the Men Who Made Him is a must-read for anyone interested in English history, and the Tudor dynasty.  More readable than might be expected from a tome of its length, readers who know something about Henry's reign will discover new fascinating gems of information and readers new to the time period will get a wonderful and thorough introduction to the life and times of Henry VIII and the men who helped make him who he was.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review